VIZIO VW26L LCD TV - User Submitted Product Review

LCD, Plasma, or DLP Television

Television Brand and Model Number: 

Date of Purchase and Purchase Price: 

My Review 

I despise this TV and the brand. I can't tell the difference between the 1080i output and 480i, even sitting right in front. The color distortions/view-angle issue means there are many times when viewing programming that I may as well be under the influence of LSD-25.

There's no ability to change to larger characters on the menus and guide--they use the same as for a larger set which is not acceptable. The only output for your higher-quality sound system is the 1/8" tip-and-ring earphone jack and the sound is not what it ought to be. The line-level audio inputs overload too easily and distort. There's a horrible turn-off "thump" which probably damages transducers.

I already have one pixel permanently "on" all the way in red. Most of the connections are too hard to get at and too crowded together. What ought to be black in images is deep deep blue.

Worst of all it doesn't take much in the way of a short/sustained period of propagation interference to so badly confuse the digital signal path software that you have to cycle the set off and on--sometimes unplug it---to return to the ability to tune ANY digital station. Further, almost any propagation problem will continue to propagate within the TV's hard/software until the channel is changed and changed back again to reset the stream within the actual television. The propagation may have returned to completely normal after a brief interruption---a bug takes a crap two blocks away, for instance---but until you change that channel and change it back you're going to be seeing something like what psychotics probably see (and sometimes paint and become famous artists). Even my extremely "buggy" RCA converter boxes recover from RF propagation errors without any intervention ( most of the time), and they're some of the crappiest consumer electronics I've ever owned, VIZIO excepted.

My recommendation: Don't ever buy this set (only used probably now) and from my dealings with VIZIO don't buy anything from them at all. The first representative I spoke to and got an incident number from told me they'd have a service technician visit my home to try to fix their electronic junk-pile. I was to try their amelioration procedure for a period of time and if it didn't help call back and set up this in-home visit. Then they said my set can only be returned for service.

What did you like about your television? 

There's not one **** thing I like about this product and I wish I'd bought a CRT-type digital television when they were available instead, or larger CRT analog set and just relied on converter boxes, even bad as the ones I got ( RCA ) have been.

What didn't you like about your television? 

I despise almost everything about this product, particularly it's manufacturer.

Final comments? (Optional) 

Do not buy from this manufacturer. Do not buy consumer electronics from Walmart. If considering upgrading to DTV before your current analog set ceases functioning, don't bother. Broadcast TV sucks (Unless you like missing all the punchlines/critical dialog with "Dropouts"). DTV=SCAM

Would you recommend this to a friend? 

Robert Silva, Home Theater Guide, says:

This reader appears to have had problems with his TV, and he may have indeed wound up with a "Lemon". However, just as with any TV, there will be cases of both satisfied and dissatisfied owners. That being said, there are factors that consumers should be aware of that can minimize a bad TV owning experience.

1. Don't decide based on price or brand. Make sure a TV has the performance and features that you want.

2. If you like the look of CRT sets, consider Plasma over LCD. A Plasma image looks closer to that of a CRT set than does an LCD TV.

3. With regards to viewing 480i/1080i on an LCD TV - All incoming signals on an LCD TV (or Plasma TV) are scaled to that TVs native pixel resolution. What you see on the screen is neither a true 480i or 1080i image but, in the case of the VW26L, the image on the screen is either upscaled from 480i or downscaled from 1080i to 1366x768 - which is approximately 720p. Look for how well a TV performs the upscaling/downscaling function.

4. The other factor is screen size. Typically, the difference between 720p and 1080p is noticeable at about the 40-inch screen size. Also, Cable/Satellite TV sources can sometimes be highly compressed - which affects image quality. If you compare Blu-ray Disc to other sources, even on a 26-set with 1366x768 resolution - you should be able to tell the difference between the Blu-ray and 480i source.

5. With regards to Digital TV reception using an antenna. Reception problems may not be the fault of the TV. Depending on your location - you may experience what is known as the "cliff effect". Unlike analog signals, which can received even if there is a weak signal - Digital TV signals are either full strength or off - so, if there is anything that interrupts the signal or you are just on the edge of the reception area - you may periodically lose your digital signal. Consider a different antenna or a different location for the antenna - or, consider Cable/Satellite as an alternative.

6. Be aware of store return policy and product warranty. If you don't understand your TV or you suspect a defect or problem, contact Tech Support for that brand of TV, or take steps to return or exchange the set for another unit. Also, check for any recall announcements regarding your TV.

Regardless of any product you buy, there is always a chance you might wind up something that doesn't work right for you, or just doesn't work. Being aware of the tips outlined above, you can avoid most of these instances.